RIYADH, 28 August 2004 — A collision between a car and a freight train on the Riyadh-Dammam sector near Al-Ahsa disrupted railway traffic for nearly four hours yesterday. A spokesman for the Saudi Railways told Arab News that the accident occurred when the Dammam-bound train derailed after ramming the vehicle. This led to the disruption of traffic in both directions on the Riyadh-Dammam route. He said normal train services have since been resumed.
A passenger traveling on the Riyadh-bound train from Dammam said the Saudi Railways Organization came up with a novel plan to transport the passengers of the two trains to their respective destinations. They hired a fleet of buses to ferry them to the two trains which could not proceed further due to the derailment of the freight train. Then an engine was dispatched from Riyadh to bring the train that had left from the capital but with passengers from the Dammam side.
Similarly, the train coming from Dammam returned to its starting point with passengers from Riyadh. The passenger, Ali-Al Shehri, told Arab News that the mishap occurred at 11.20 a.m. on Thursday near Al-Ahsa station. The transfer of passengers in both directions was completed in about two and a half hours. “We reached Riyadh at 6.10 p.m., four hours behind schedule,” he added.
